Richland County cross country teams keep championship streaks going

MANSFIELD — Championship streaks are alive and well.

Richland County cross country teams continued their dominance over their respected leagues on Saturday during conference cross country weekend. Let's run down how each team faired.

Lexington Lady Lex wins 15th consecutive Ohio Cardinal Conference championship

The Lexington girls cross country team is the queen of the Ohio Cardinal Conference yet again. With just 22 team points, Lex cruised to a 15th consecutive OCC title on Saturday. Brailey Slone took home the individual championship with an 18:44.6 finishing in first place.

Elyana Weaver took second overall with a 19:15.9 while Jenna Halfhill finished fourth with a 19:21.8. Katya Prykodko finished in sixth with a 20:13.2 and Jacie Foster rounded out the five best scores with a 20:42.8 to take ninth overall. Hannah Griffin ran a 20:55.7 to take 13th and Abby Moeglin took 15th with a 20:58.5.

The Madison Rams finished seventh as a team with 163 team points. Callie Cyrus was the top finisher taking 14th with a 20:56.5 while Sara Smith took 26th with a 22:24.8. Piper Donahue (37th; 23:07.4) Emily Musgrove (43rd; 23:19.3), Natalie Markle (45th; 23:45.1), Emma Reynolds (47th; 24:31.3) and Chloe Jeffers (48th; 25:09.0) rounded out the runners for the Rams.

Tilia Ames was the lone competitor for the Mansfield Senior Tygers taking 38th with a 23:07.6.

Lexington Minutemen go back-to-back in OCC

The Lexington Minutemen made it two straight OCC championships on Saturday scoring just 35 team points to take home the trophy.

Chance Basilone was the overall medalist taking first with a 15:34.1 while Ethan Slone added a great second time with a 16:37.3 to take seventh overall. Latrell Hughes took eighth with a 16:43.6 as Lincoln Rice ran a 16:44.3 to take ninth and age Devaney ran a 16:49.5 to take 10th overall giving the Minutemen five runners in the Top 10. Drew Hooper took 11th with a 16:50.2 while Luke Haring finished 24th with a 17:41.8 to round out the runners for Lex.

The Madison Rams took seventh overall with 213 team points. They were led by Evan Larsen who took 36th with an 18:33.1 while Justin Gibson ran a 20:04.0 to take 42nd. Alexander Hernandez (43rd; 20:07.9), Nikolas Balg (45th; 20:11.9), Jake Lord (47th; 20:50.6), Jackson Brummett (48th; 21:01.0) and Hayden Stollings (49th; 21:12.7) also ran for Madison.

Mansfield Senior's Gavin Camak was the lone runner for the Tygers and took 50th with a 21:14.9.

Shelby Whippets sweep Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference championships

The Shelby Whippets completed the MOAC sweep of the boys and girls team cross country championships.

The girls team scored just 36 team points to win its third consecutive title. Emma Montgomery led the Whippets taking third overall with a solid 19:23.61 while Anna Will finished fifth with a 19:30.03 and Channon Cundiff took sixth with a 19:31.01. Emma Mahek gave the Whippets four runners in the Top 10 taking 10th with a 20:42.48. Kailyn Schwall rounded out the five best runners taking 12th with a 20:52.65.

Ontario took third overall with 85 points. Baylee Black took eighth overall with a 19:49.8 while Zoe Hampton took 14th with a 21:24.09, Kenzie Goodlin took 16th with a 21:41.41, Journey Ross finished 19th with a 21:46.07 and Eliana Fittante finished 30th with a 22:53.65 to round out the scorers for the Warriors.

The Clear Fork Colts did not post a team score but had four runners compete led by Madison McKenna who took 18th overall with a 21:42.59. Aly Brokaw (35th; 23:34.89), Alexandrea Welshans (53rd; 27:12.27) and Sydney Kime (60th; 30:55.69) also ran for the Colts.

The Shelby Whippets boys team took first overall with 44 points to claim their sixth straight MOAC championship.

Marshall Moore led the Whippets with a third-place finish in 16:37.13 while Indy Mayer took seventh overall with a 16:47.70 and Luke Lesseuer gave Shelby three runners in the Top 10 taking 10th with a 17:02.13. Carson Perkins finished 11th with a 17:15.55 and Sean Finnegan took 13th with a 17:18.47 to round out the five scoring runners for Shelby.

Ontario took fourth as a team with 80 points. Xavier Trent was the top runner for the day taking fourth with a 16:38.63 while Dean Morrison took fifth with a 16:41.32. Ashton Drozda (21st; 17:49.63), Rylan Baker (27th; 17:58.84) and Caden Meyers (27th; 18:25.20) rounded out the runners for the Warriors.

Clear Fork finished eighth with 221 team points. Peyton Freitag took 43rd with a 19:37.81 while Beau Dornbirer finished 46th with a 20:05.28 and Cooper George took 47th with a 20:06.72. Adam Wallis (56th; 21:47.39) and Fisher McLaughlin (64th; 24:45.53) rounded out the scoring runners for the Colts.

Crestview Cougars in Firelands Conference team championship

The Crestview girls cross country team won its fourth consecutive Firelands Conference championship on Saturday. It scored just 31 team points on their way to the title.

Leyna Gerich took second overall with a time of 19:55.96 to lead the Cougars. Alina Durbin added a great time going 20:57.3 to take fourth overall while Emmie Kemp finished sixth in 21:12.0. Georgia McFarland ran a 22:01.6 to take 11th while Makenzie Spoerr rounded out the five best times for the Cougars with a 22:04.6 to take 12th. Mia Humrishouser (17th; 23:01.9), Regan Brooky (27th; 24:15.7) and Audrey Wolford (29th; 24:27.4) rounded out the runners for Crestview.

Plymouth's Morgan Follett took third overall with a 20:31.9 to lead the Big Red. Kristi Ueager (40th; 26:34.5) and Alyson Lewis (42nd; 26:37.5) also ran for Plymouth.

The Crestview boys team took fourth overall with 117 points. Cooper Brockway had a great day taking third overall with a 16:41.4 while Wyatt Love finished in 11th with an 18:36.5. Nathan Hummel (40th; 21:58.4), Daniel Hout (41st; 22:06.7) and Chase Brenneman (49th; 23:32.9) also ran for the Cougars.

The Plymouth Big Red took sixth as a team with 154 points. They were led by Colton Sundstrom who took 17th with a 19:35.0 while Malachi Keefe ran a 20:43.4 to take 27th. Zach Miller (44th; 22:29.3), Gabe Kamann (46th; 22:45.5), Isaiah Miller (50th; 23:36.1), Jack Kelbley (54th; 26:01.6) and Luke Kelbley (55th; 26:20.0) also ran for the Big Red.

Bichsel named Mid-Buckeye Conference Runner of the Year

Lucas' Gavin Bichsel took home top honors at the Mid-Buckeye Conference meet on Saturday earning runner-of-the-year honors after a first-place finish in 18:12.55. He was the top runner for the Cubs while Ray Lewis took third overall with an 18:24.64. Zach Krupa (20th; 21:40.72), Trevor Estep (22nd; 21:56.95), Brody Odson (23rd; 22:02.58) and Colby Crawford (26th; 23:23.70) also ran for the Cubs. Lucas finished in third place as a team.

The Mansfield Christian Flames took second with 43 team points. They were led by Landin Cyphers with a fourth-place finish in 19:18.43 while Adam Them took fifth with a 19:26.18, Brock Rentzel took ninth with a 19:58.60, Nicholas Adams finished in 12th with a 20:22.37 and Isaac Delp finished 17th with a 21:20.72 and Caleb Miller rounded out the day for the Flames with a 27th-place finish in 24:52.18.

The St. Peter's Spartans had two runners in the race. Jaeden Beatty took 13th with a 20:52.68 and Nate Hart finished 29th with a 27:19.08.

Mansfield Christian's Meagan Them was the top Richland County runner in the girls race. She took second overall with a 20:47.30. Teammate Joy Adams finished 17th with a 29:35.72.

Lucas' Chloe Sturts ran a nice race for the Cubs taking third overall with a 21:51.83.

St. Peter's had two runners as Elina Gilland took 11th with a 26:08.43 and Abbey Farragher finished 20th with a 30:56.13.

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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Richland County cross country teams keep championship streaks going